Turkey, Nov 6 (IANS) Lukas Kubler struck early as Freiburg claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory away to Trabzonspor in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, while Lugano moved to the top of the standings after maintaining its perfect record.
Julian Schuster's side made the brighter start, pressing aggressively and repeatedly forcing mistakes in the opposition half.
The visitors' early dominance paid off in the 14th minute when Vincenzo Grifo delivered a corner that Igor Matanovic headed toward goal. Goalkeeper Andre Onana saved the initial effort, but Kubler reacted quickest to fire home the rebound, reports Xinhua.
Trabzonspor gradually settled into the contest, with Mohamed Salah and Ernest Muci threatening as the host began finding space in Freiburg's half.
Salah wasted Trabzonspor's best first-half opportunity five minutes before the interval, sending a shot narrowly over from around 11 meters.
Freiburg continued to create chances, with Maximilian Eggestein twice denied by last-ditch blocks before Grifo curled an effort narrowly wide.
The host increased the pressure after halftime, forcing Freiburg deeper into its own half, but struggled to break down the visitors' disciplined defense.
Trabzonspor's clearest opportunity came in the 61st minute when Paul Onuachu redirected a corner toward Salah, whose close-range effort was kept out by Florian Backhaus.
Trabzonspor continued to push forward, but Freiburg remained compact and protected its narrow advantage.
"It was a great and important away victory, especially considering the opponents we still have to face," said Freiburg coach Julian Schuster.
The victory lifted Freiburg to 14th place with six points from three matches, while Trabzonspor slipped to 12th, also on six points.
Elsewhere, Lugano climbed to the top after beating Kauno Zalgiris 3-0, maintaining its perfect record alongside Panathinaikos, Twente and Monaco.
Panathinaikos edged CSKA Sofia 2-1, Twente defeated Pafos 3-1 and Monaco overcame Nordsjaelland 2-0. Ajax recorded the evening's biggest victory, thrashing Midtjylland 6-1 to climb to 11th.
Brighton edged Getafe 1-0, Copenhagen beat Iberia Tbilisi 2-1 and Universitatea Craiova defeated Egnatia 2-0. Mjallby beat Borac 2-0, Thun defeated Hearts 3-1, Lincoln Red Imps edged Hajduk Split 1-0 and Crvena Zvezda overcame Inter Escaldes 2-1.
Atalanta drew 1-1 with Kairat Almaty, while Gent and KuPS Kuopio played out a goalless draw. Aarhus and Braga also drew 0-0, while Sint-Truidense held Brann to a 1-1 draw and Riga drew 1-1 with Jablonec.
--IANS
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